Food policymakers’ dilemma

THE dilemma for food policymakers was never clearer.

Within days of the European Commission suggesting it might cut food production in order to protect the environment and take action against climate change, the United States Department of Agriculture released a shock crop estimate, cutting expected maize yields by 4%

While discussions continued across Europe on agricultural policy reform, global grain traders were scrambling to secure food supplies, scared by the prospect of maize stocks sinking to a 14-year low in the US, the world’s biggest supplier of this important food grain.